John Bunyan

John Bunyan (1628-1688) was born in Elstow, England. Bunyan was one of the most influential writers of the seventeenth-century west, and has over seventy religious works to his name - the most famous of which is perhaps 'The Pilgrim's Progress'. This work was written during Bunyan's time in Bedford Prison, where he resided for twelve years after preaching without the permission of the Anglican church. The official charge was "teaching men to worship God contrary to the law"; but despite this lengthy sentence 'The Pilgrim's Progress' went on to circulate more than 100,000 copies in Bunyan's lifetime and is still in print today. Bunyan died in August 1688 in Snow Hill, London.